The End of Honor

 

 

 

The First Novel in the Series:

The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox

   
The End of Honor
 

Secret Information Page

 
 

 

 

The End of Honor

 

 

ISBN: 1602900140
ISBN-13: 9781602900141
Format: Paperback, 192pp
Publisher: OakTara Fiction
Pub. Date:
July 2008

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The Death-Knell of the Human Galactic Empire
Prince John-Mark Haupenburg

The Dragon.  Prince John-Mark Haupenberg is a man of action.  He is the commander of the Emperor's Huscarls, the Emperor's elite and only military fighting force.  John-Mark is compassionate and passionate.  He has a tendency to let his heart overrule his reason.  He is man most men love to follow and that most are willing to give up their lives for. 

Lady Lyral Neuterra

Dark and sylphish, Lyral Neuterra doesn't think much of her beauty or her presence as a member of the royalty.  She is well trained at Lady Pembrooks, and the second greatest student of her age. Only Tamar Falkeep in their generation exceeds Lyral in capability as a political manipulator.  Still Lyral is unsure of herself and what she is really capable of.  She insists on falling in love instead of bowing to political necessity.  She wins a prince because of her personality and strength.  

Count Ian Acier

The Count of the Planet of Acier, he commands the greatest intelligence and ground forces in the Human Galactic Empire.  He holds the greatest wealth of any count and greater than some Dukes.  Count Acier is cunning and reasoned.  He is a great man to have as a friend and a very dangerous enemy. He is tall and dark with a strong Acierian brogue. His features are square. 

This is a star map showing all the systems and planets mentioned in The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox.  They are many of the systems mentioned in The Ghost Ship Chronicles as well.  The color coding will not be evident in the books.  It will be black and white.  The red systems are those that supported the Emperor Perodus.  The black systems are neutral.  The blue and other shades, in the Empire are the banned houses.  The space battles are marked with the crossed ships over the star.  All the systems in The Kingdom of Neuterra are titled.
This is a diagram of the Delta.  This is the area that is of so much importance in each of the books.  The Chronicles of the Dragon and the Fox begin in the Delta and end in the Delta--specifically the Hall of Accords.
Research:

You might conclude that pure science fiction requires no research--this is an absolutely wrong idea.  Good science fiction requires a basis of the real world with a projection of authentic science overlaying it.  If the world does not match the proper sense of the reader, the story is ruined.  If the science is not convincing and logical, the unique feel of the future is gone--the novelty of the science part of the fiction has been lost.  For me, writing science fiction is like developing a new idea in engineering.  I can see it in my mind, and I try to describe both its effects and its design.  The research is through constant immersion in engineering and in fiction.  This way, the imagined worlds are real and the science comes alive. 

The world of the Dragon and the Fox is a projection based on the idea that genetic manipulation was required for humankind to conquer the worlds they discovered when they traveled into space.  The genetic manipulation was used to create great doctors, technicians, scientists, and leaders.  Eventually the society became moribund and turned into something akin to feudalism--the Human Galactic Empire.  Against this backdrop, the Dragon and the Fox fight for honor while their world and civilization is falling around them.

The technology of the Dragon and the Fox is also a projection.  All of the concepts described are potential technological solutions.  The big idea isn't the technology or the changes to the human species.  The big concept is how little technology and human changes have really affected the fabric of human interaction.  The one specific change that is very evident in the world of the Dragon and the Fox is the differentiation between men and women.  This change in human culture historically reverses itself based on the organization of society and the identification of the differences between men and women.  The world of the Dragon and the Fox highlights this differentiation based on the feudal and genetic leadership base of their society.  I don't advocate these roles or this type of society--the ideas come out of the question that brought about the world of the Dragon and the Fox.       

The Question: 

The End of Honor asks a unique question:  what can be the ramifications of personal relationships when they are ultimately based on political ends? 

The Characters: 

We applaud Prince John-Mark and the Lady Lyral.  We applaud their happiness, love, and pleasant agreement.  However, this agreement results in the death of John-Mark's father, Lyral herself, and provides the tipping point for the entire Human Galactic Empire.  We love the characters.  We see the honor in their actions and lives.  But when we reflect on the harm they have caused, we wonder if honor is enough.  Good intentions and good people are often the cause of much suffering.  That is more akin to the theme.

The Theme: 

The theme of The End of Honor is that responsibility and humility are the greatest human virtues and the basis of true honor.  We see good intentions and seeking honor ultimately cause untold hardship and pain.  The result of John-Mark and Lyral's apparently honorable actions is a universe at war and friends dead.  John-Mark must give up everything to return the Human Galactic Empire to peace and political balance.  In the end, we find honor is the willingness to give up everything for the good of others.   

Teaser:

Would you be willing to give up everything to attain true honor even if that meant your own degradation, pain, and suffering.

Original Cover Concepts

 

 

 

  Novels by this Author
   
       The Second Mission (Available now)
       Centurion   (Available now published by OakTara)
       Aegypt            (Available now published by OakTara)
 

  

The Dragon and the Fox

 

                     (Available now published by OakTara)

 

                                                             

The End of Honor       The Fox’s Honor        A Season of Honor 

 

 

 

  L.D. Alford is the author of 41 technical papers published in international journals on flight test, military policy, flight safety, space, and cyberwar.  Technical Writing
   
  L.D. Alford has been a professional aviator for over 30 years.  Aviation Writing
   

L.D. Alford Aviation Writing Technical Writing Unpublished Novels Writing Links Engineer

 

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